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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 Pairings Blitz: The strongest chess tournament in history has two other attractions - First, the new World Chess Champion is playing his first chess tournament after picking up the world title. Second, he is meeting his 'victim' former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand for the first time after the November, 2013 debacle.

Magnus Carlsen on his way to crushing Viswanathan Anand in the Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 pairings blitz Round 4 on Wednesday night.

A blitz chess tournament was played on Wednesday, January 29, to determine the colour distribution for the main Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 which includes five rounds of classical chess to be played from Thursday to Monday (30 January to 3 February), followed by a rapid tournament with reversed colors on the last day (4 February).

Everyone was focused on just one game really particularly after Magnus Carlsen 'lost' the first round blitz game to Fabiano Caruana!

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen and his predecessor met in Round 4 and the Indian Grandmaster handed the Norwegian a cool checkmate in three that is bound to keep Carlsen fans exulting and Anand fans gnashing their teeth for a long time to come.

Take a try at the chess position yourself: Carlsen-Anand 1-0. Anand has just played 20. ...Nc6. Anand resigned on Magnus Carlsen's next move which actually forces a checkmate in three!

What did Magnus Carlsen play and Anand resign?

(Expect the position to go down in chess puzzle books across the planet)

Here is also the livestream video of the game Carlsen - Anand from the Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 pairings blitz. All games were commented by GM Yannick Pelletier and IM Werner Hug and broadcast live via the Internet. Don't miss their excellent commentary and chat.

Here are the pairings for the 'actual' Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 tournament with classical and rapid games:

For complete tournament reports on the Zurich Chess Challenge 2014, continue to follow our main website www.blackandwhiteindia.com. You can also access the official website of the Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 here. -- Rajat Sinha

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 — The strongest tournament in chess history to date begins Wednesday, January 29 at the Hotel Savoy. This is going to be the first chess tournament in the history of the game to claim a level of Category 23 with an amazing average rating of 2801!

Destiny is cruel and chess destiny can be crueler still: The newly-crowned World Chess Champion and his 'victim' Viswanathan Anand will meet again for the first time after the November 2013 World Chess Championship. This will be Magnus Carlsen's first tournament appearance after winning the world title. Anand has already played the London Chess Classic in December 2013 which Carlsen did not attend.

The chess greats - Anand and Carlsen - are to meet twice over the board in Zurich not counting the blitz event for deciding the pairings.

A blitz tournament will determine the color distribution on the first day (29 January). Five rounds of classical chess will then be played from Thursday to Monday (30 January to 3 February), followed by a rapid tournament with reversed colors on the last day (4 February).

We expect a 'respectful' draw between Anand and Carlsen in the classical game without any fodder for the hungry fans or salivating journalists. But, if Anand were to win he would make a point: That he did have the requisite weapons ready in November 2013 itself, but "read Carlsen wrong" as he has commented before. If Carlsen were to win... it's going to be driving the nail back in with greater pain. Anand chess fans, keep fingers crossed.

The other players are the Armenian Levon Aronian (2), the American Hikaru Nakamura (3), the US-Italian Fabiano Caruana (6), as well as the Israeli Boris Gelfand (8).

This brilliant event, which will take place in the extraordinary familial environment of the ballroom of the Hotel Savoy, has already caught the attention throughout the world and led to the registration of many journalists and top-players, including Peter Leko, Jan Timman and Gennadi Sosonko.

Further, the Chinese women's world-champion Hou Yifan will attend this unique occasion and will be playing a simultaneous exhibition with clocks against 6 top Swiss juniors on 1 February at 1 p.m. at the Zurich 'Zunfthaus zur Saffran'.

The owner of IGC International Gemological Laboratories», Mr. Oleg Skvortsov, is the creator of this chess event. He not only loves chess, but also plays chess and supports chess events. Furthermore, Mr. Skvortsov knows many of the greatest chess players in the world personally and has played a lot of games with them.

A press release states, the Zurich Chess Club is very proud to be the organizer and host of this unique event and it would like to thank the main tournament sponsor and chess-enthusiast Oleg Skvortsov, whose generous contribution has allowed for this extraordinary event to take place!

All games will be commented by GM Yannick Pelletier and IM Werner Hug and broadcast live via the Internet.

Admission to the classical and rapid games is free, no previous registration is required. Due to limited room capacity, the Opening Ceremony and the blitz tournament are for official guests only.

Daily from 30 January to 4 February 2014.The rounds start at 15.00 local time (CET), except for the last round, which begins at 13.00 CET.Spectators are welcome, entrance free.

Main sponsor

«IGC International Gemological Laboratories» is a Russian institute providing gemological services, such as diamond grading reports, enhanced diamonds identification, man-made/synthetic diamonds and imitation detection, as well as certification of diamonds, gemstones and jewelry in the Russian Federation. IGC is the Russian branch of «GCI» a group of gemological laboratories located worldwide.

Co-sponsors

Aspeco, SurJewel, Savoy Chess Corner, Zurich Chess Club (founded in 1809, the oldest chess club of the world)

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen took virtually no time in demolishing the world's richest man for a long, long time, Bill Gates, Thursday night on a Norwegian-Swedish television talk show hosted by Norwegian journalist Fredrik Skavlan. It was a checkmate in nine moves and just about one minute, 20 or so seconds. Gates had already said, "The outcome is a foregone conclusion," as the chessboard was being brought to the stage.

Carlsen said, "He was a bit unlucky and eventually fell to my tactics, but he otherwise made good, healthy moves. I think with a little more time, he could certainly be a pretty good player."

"When you are not smart?" Fredrik Skavlan asked Bill Gates. "When I play chess against him," responded the Microsoft founder, nodding towards Carlsen. "Want to try?" asks Skavlan. "The outcome is a foregone conclusion, responded Gates. The program, clips of which Reuters received in advance, was recorded on Wednesday in London, Norwegian TV NRK said.

Magnus Carlsen took the world by storm as a child prodigy, becoming an international Grand Master at 13. At 19, he was the youngest chess player to be ranked number one in the world, and at 22, in November 2013, he defeated five-time former world champion Viswanathan Anand. Now, at age 23, Magnus holds a record rating of 2872.

Be inspired by Magnus as he is interviewed by entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel, former US-rated Chess Master with a lifelong passion for chess. Topics covered are Magnus' views on the game, his experience winning the championship, and the role he believes chess can play in advancing young people's critical thinking, social skills, and ability to achieve academically.

Prior to the onstage program, Magnus played in a six-board simultaneous chess demonstration. Participants entered in a drawing benefiting First Move, a dynamic non-profit organization that brings chess to second and third graders across the country—and the winner became one of the six brave players.

Program Partners:Silicon Valley BankFirst Move

Gold Sponsor:Silicon Valley Bank

Silver Sponsors:Innovation NorwayThe Mendell Family Foundation

* The Churchill ClubIgniting Conversations to Encourage Innovation and Economic GrowthThis is our focus: to cultivate a one-stop-shop of world-class people—people like yourself—that ignites the kinds of conversations that lead to new ideas, enlivened dreams and personal motivation. A tall order, for sure, but one we’ve been successful at for 25 years.

It’s an impressive list, but it would be no more than a roster if we weren’t committed to the idea of an independent forum that facilitates the open and timely exchange of ideas, opinions and viewpoints among business leaders and innovators. At the Churchill Club, collaborators and competitors meet on stage to share and discuss their newest thinking. They commit to have unscripted conversations that go beyond the hype. Attendees have the opportunity to ask questions directly of speakers, uncensored by the moderator.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

World Chess Champion Makes a Winning Move with America's Foundation for Chess

SILICON VALLEY, Calif., Jan. 16, 2014 -- /PRNewswire/ -- How will Magnus Carlsen top 2013, the history-making year he became World Chess Champion and holds the highest rating of all time? He's joining forces with America's Foundation for Chess (AF4C) to bring the First Move chess program into elementary school classrooms as a tool for enhancing critical and creative thinking skills.

As part of this effort, Magnus Carlsen has agreed to be Honorary Chairman for the non-profit joining a prestigious group of sponsors including Paul Tudor Jones, Silicon Valley Bank, Concur, Qualcomm, ZMD and Two Sigma. This initial grant is the first step toward raising $5M to bring the First Move program to half a million students by 2017. Optimized for second and third grade classrooms, this formal and interactive chess curriculum gives teachers a powerful tool to engage children in learning chess while providing critical skills that will benefit them for years to come.

Carlsen has seen first-hand how First Move engages students, regardless of gender or background. He also recognizes the importance of teaching chess during the school day to give every student the opportunity to learn and benefit from the centuries old game.

"I love the way chess empowers kids," said Carlsen. "I consider First Move to be the most strategic way to give kids an advantage and help them live up to their full potential."

As Honorary Chairman, Carlsen will announce his partnership with America's Foundation for Chess tonight at a special event hosted by Silicon Valley Bank and the Churchill Club, sponsored by Innovation Norway. Magnus will play six people simultaneously while blindfolded followed by an interview with avid chess player Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Facebook investor, to talk about Magnus' rise in the chess world, the value of chess and the impact on kids.

About Magnus Carlsen: At age 23, Carlsen's already storied career makes him a dream champion for the cause. Born in 1990 in Norway, Magnus became a Grandmaster at thirteen years and four months. He was the youngest player ever to be ranked number one in the world at the age of 19. In January 2013, he achieved the highest rating in the history of chess beating Garry Kasparov's legendary record from 1999. In November 2013, he became the World Chess Champion making him the first World Champion from a Western country since Bobby Fischer in 1972. His many accolades extend beyond the chess world; but the game remains his passion, and he welcomes the chance to share it.

About First Move: America's Foundation for Chess developed the First Move curriculum based on the belief that chess is good for kids and schools need powerful tools to engage students and teach critical thinking skills. The interactive program currently reaches over 80,000 students in 24 states and four countries, and builds coveted skills both on and beyond the chess board, including concentration and focus, self-motivation, memory-building and the ability to analyze, plan and execute.

"We worked hard to develop an engaging and turnkey program that helps teachers inspire new avenues of thinking, levels the playing field and builds confidence," said Erik Anderson, Founder of America's Foundation for Chess. "The program has been a great success; we have schools on a wait list and over 300,000 kids in line to receive First Move."

America's Foundation for Chess encourages districts and elementary schools that are interested in First Move and the Magnus Carlsen Critical Thinking Grant to contact them at info@af4c.org or to visit http://af4c.org.

The idea was to hook the World Chess Champion and all the players with heart-monitoring, low-energy, bluetooth equipment. Nordic Semiconductor stated, the World Chess Champion was up to the challenge and beat everyone with a steady and normal heart rate. Nordic Semiconductor stated on their Facebook page, "We believe Heart Rate Monitoring will add a new element to chess tournaments both for the audience and the players. Will our new thinking with the #HRMchess tournament at International CES?"

A screen grab from a VG TV video (and report) showing heart rate of World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen and his opponents during the simul.

Yes, the World Chess Champion's heart rate remained steady as he went around beating all the 20 players.

NRK.no also had a neat report on the event with a cool video of the World Chess Champion crushing his simul opponents! The report quoted Magnus Carlsen as saying, "I think it was fun to watch the pulse rate of the people. That was entertainment for me." Magnus Carlsen has said he would be interested in using the pulse monitor at the upcoming Zurich Chess Tournament 2014.

Nordic Semiconductor commercial director said the gadget would be great for the audience at a chess tournament. For example, the audience would be able to see how a chess player's heart reacts to a blunder or mistake

Nordic Semiconductor is an industry leader in ultra low-power wireless devices. With a world-class mixed-signal R&D team Nordic develops innovative ground-breaking devices for Bluetooth low energy, ANT and 2.4GHz proprietary markets. The ARM Cortex M-series lie at the core of Nordic's highly flexible, ultra low-power wireless SoC solutions. Ultra-low power (ULP) wireless sensors that are small enough to be worn on the body are transforming the sports and fitness world by making it easy to track and log training data – such as heart-rate, speed, and distance – and share the results on-line with others.

This benefits everyone from elite athletes seeking to fine-tune their training regimes to those who simply want to get fit and stay motivated by seeing the results of their hard work. Typical products in this segment are:Wearable sensors, Heart-rate belts, Speed-distance foot pods, GPS pods, Pedometers Activity sensors, Bike cadence sensors, Bike speed sensors, Bike power sensors and Weight scales.

The International CES is the world’s largest tradeshow for consumer technology and America’s largest annual tradeshow of any kind. With more than four decades of success, the International CES reaches across global markets, connects the “who’s who” of the industry and enables consumer electronics (CE) innovations to grow and thrive.

Monday, January 6, 2014

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen continues to overwhelm Norway (and the world) with his wow factor. The World Chess Champion - even though not eligible to win the Athlete of the Year Award - at Norway's annual Sports Gala (Idrettsgallaen) on Saturday night - won in every category he was nominated for.

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen quotes:- There are some who’ve complained that I haven’t prepared a speech. No, I haven’t prepared a third speech. That’s what I can say. Now I’ve already thanked those who should be thanked.”- In his earlier speeches, Carlsen paid tribute to his family, the jury, and co-winner Pettersen. - “I will continue to be one step ahead of all the others. I don’t want to be a world champion who doesn’t care so much about tournaments, but just sits and clutches onto the title.”

World Chess Championship Anand vs Carlsen 2013: Here is some interesting trivia about the prizes at the World Chess Championship. Magnus Carlsen earned a special 22-carat gold medal by winning the title.

Chief Minister J Jayalalitha had personally designed and overseen the creation of the World Chess Champion gold medal. The medal weighed 103.600 grams (ei­ght grams make a sovereign). Viswanathan Anand received a silver medal. Magnus Carlsen also recei­ved 60 per cent of the prize money, which amounted to Rs 9.9 crore, while Anand got Rs 6.03 crore (40 per cent).

The Chief Minister also presented World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen with a specially carved trophy made of 3.51 kg silver and coated with gold. The World Chess Champion was also presented with a traditional olive garland specially sourced from the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu. Anand received a silver plaque weighing 1.395 kg.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

World Chess Magnus Carlsen of Norway continues to wow experts and fans alike. Norway sports journalists have also voted World Chess Champion the Sportsperson of 2013: The Name of Sports 2013, to be specific. This is the first time a chess player (as expected) has been voted to the title by the journalists.

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Anand vs Carlsen

We've been celebrating the World Chess Championship 2013. The new World Chess Champion is Magnus Carslen, but we will continue to post links, views, features surrounding the World Chess Championship 2013 for the sheer joy of having witnessed chess history being created. Feel free to share opinion, links, and even point out errors - no matter which side you have been cheering for. Let's just continue celebrating a historic chess event. (Email: editor@blackandwhiteindia.com)